Riley Strain: 22-year-old Mizzou student missing in Nashville

Editor’s note: The latest update on Riley Strain.

(NewsNation) — A Missouri family is pleading for the public’s help after their 22-year-old son disappeared Friday in Nashville.

Riley Strain was in Music City for a fraternity conference with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers over the weekend when he went missing after getting kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge. His friend discovered he was not at their hotel on Saturday morning and alerted his family.

“It’s your worst nightmare, really,” Ryan Gilbert, Strain’s father, said.

Riley Strain disappears

The University of Missouri student had been cut off by the bartender at Luke Bryan’s bar, 32 Bridge Food + Drink, after he was overserved, Strain’s stepfather Chris Whiteid said. A friend of Strain’s attempted to leave the bar with him as security led Strain out of the bar around 9:30 p.m., but the security team would not let him out at that point, according to Strain’s stepfather.

By the time Strain’s friend was let out of the bar, Strain had already left the outside area of the bar. Another one of Strain’s friends called Strain. On the phone, Strain told them he was heading back to the hotel room.

Instead, Chris Whiteid said Strain’s phone was pinged at 10:15 p.m., 45 minutes later, in the opposite direction of the hotel.

There has been no word from him since.

A couple of hours before Strain went missing, the 22-year-old called his mother, Michelle Whiteid, on Facetime from one of the city venues.

“He and his buddy were having a good time and he just wanted to show me that he was having a good time,” Michelle Whiteid told NewsNation’s Markie Martin on “Morning in America.”

Strain and his mother have a very close relationship, so it wasn’t unusual for them to talk multiple times a day. His mom said there was nothing out of the ordinary when she talked to him on Friday night.

“He was sending me texts after we Facetimed,” she said.

Strain had sent “I love you” texts and pictures of him and his buddies at the different bars to his mom after they talked on the phone.

“They were just showing me that they were having a good time,” Michelle Whiteid said.

Search for Riley Strain in Nashville

As soon as Strain’s parents and step-parents were notified of his disappearance, the four made their way to Nashville as quickly as possible.

Still, on Tuesday, Ryan Gilbert said they still don’t know what has happened to their son.

“We don’t really know right now. We hear different stories of different scenarios,” he said.

The family said they are waiting on the police to pull a digital footprint of what might have gone on after Strain left the bar on Friday night.

His family said he is hard to miss at 6’7, 160 pounds, with blue eyes and blonde hair. His mom described him as fun and outgoing. 

“They should be able to quickly find him. I mean, at six (foot) seven (inches), he kind of stands out in the crowd.” Ryan Gilbert said. “Given the timeframe that we’ve been able to narrow down to, they should be able to start finding his digital footprint based on cameras.”

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said they have done both hospital and jail checks but have found nothing. Police records show his friends tried to use Riley’s Snapchat location to find him but were unable to see him in the area of the last reported location. 

Detectives today continue to pursue tips & investigative leads concerning missing person Riley Strain, 22. Strain, wearing a 2-tone shirt, is seen in this video crossing 1st Ave N to Gay St (right to left), at 9:47 p.m. Fri. Have info about him? Plz 📞 615-742-7463. pic.twitter.com/fE86dlqeOC

— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 12, 2024

Strain’s case has been handed off the to department’s missing persons team, but the family said the officer who took their initial report on Saturday night has remained active with the family and actively working with his patrol to search and follow up on anything they may find.

Communications director for the University of Missouri, Christian Basi, said Monday afternoon that the event Riley and his fraternity brothers were attending was not affiliated with the university. Mizzou is now offering counseling resources on campus and university officials have been in touch with Strain’s family and the police in Nashville. 

Strain is a senior business student at Mizzou and is set to graduate this May.

Anyone with information at Mizzou’s campus is asked to call MU Police, 573-882-7201, who is working with law enforcement in Nashville. 

NewsNation affiliate WKRN contributed to this report.